Capacity Building in Northeast Africa (NEA): The Oromo Challenge to Narratives of Power in the Horn
Abstracts and Panel or Roundtable Proposals due by June 8, 2025
Before the European “Scramble for Africa” and the rise of the Abyssinian Empire, the Oromo people were independent and governed by the Indigenous Gada system, which featured Siinqee. They had the freedom to elect their leaders with egalitarian practices, sustainable relationships to land, and equitable gender relationships. However, with the backing of European colonizers, Abyssinia waged a prolonged war against the Oromo in the late 1800s, ultimately conquering and subjecting them to impose what was colonial rule but has not yet been widely acknowledged as such in mainstream discourse. Under the Gada system, the land was held collectively by the community. The colonial conquest transformed the Oromo people into serfs, stripping them of their rights and autonomy. Since this colonization and the transformation to an Ethiopian settler colonial system, the Oromo have been denied the right to self-determination.
The Oromos are indigenous to the Northeastern African Region (NEA). As members of the Cushitic ethnolinguistic family, the Oromo share genetic and cultural ties with the ancient Nubians, who introduced monolithic religious ideologies. Today, a significant number of Oromo individuals practice Islam and Christianity, often interpreting these religions as adaptations of their Indigenous belief system, referred to as “Waqeffanna.” Initially, their rejection of these faiths led to them being labeled as “pagans,” a term steeped in colonial and racist attitudes. To counter these racist narratives and empower the Oromo people, it is vital to engage in the preservation of their history and promote empirical evidence that affirms their indigeneity to the region and highlights their rich cultural heritage as both legitimate and valuable. As with other colonial processes, colonialist and racist narratives have profoundly influenced the policies implemented and sustained in the Horn of Africa, significantly obstructing the region’s social, economic, political, cultural, and environmental development. The foundations of contemporary instability, famine, and ecological degradation in the Horn of Africa are closely linked to these colonial legacies and their accompanying policies.
Colonialism’s impact can be found in the epistemological, political, sociocultural, moral, economic, and ecological rule of the Horn of Africa. It is characterized by relationships of injustice, where Indigenous peoples like the Oromo are subjugated. Their languages and religious systems are marginalized and considered a threat to the stability of Ethiopia, which is erroneously termed a “nation-state.” Racism is closely related to colonial violence. Ideologies that framed the Oromo and other Indigenous people as “Other” were used to justify colonial processes. This racism relied on ideologies of colorism and anti-Blackness, within which both physical and cultural attributes of the Oromo were devalued.
The foundational violence of colonialism and racism has yet to be untangled from the lives of the Oromo people, both in the Horn of Africa and in the diaspora. Its impacts can also be seen in the violence faced by other Indigenous peoples in the Horn and Northeast Africa. Land disputes and famine in the Somali-Oromo borderlands are one such colonial artifact, evidence of characteristic land mismanagement and a colonial disrespect for Indigenous practices of care and community.
OSA is dedicated to reclaiming Indigenous narratives and critically examining longstanding and emerging social issues—including climate change, food sovereignty, and political instability— which hold significant importance. For nearly four decades, it has been an essential forum for fostering decolonizing theories, practices, and collaborative efforts to instigate transformative changes in the Horn of Africa. This year, we will examine the following categories under the broader theme.
1. EPISTEMIC INJUSTICES AND DECOLONIAL EPISTEMOLOGIES
Epistemic injustice (as described by Fricker 2007 and expanded by Ndlovu-Gatsheni 2018) and Indigenous epistemologies are the focus of this thematic category. We aim to critique epistemic injustice in the Horn of Africa by untangling the way it harms Oromo peoples as it has their colonized neighbors. What are the impacts of colonialist and racist narratives? How can we highlight the invaluable Indigenous perspectives using available data to explore the bonds between the Oromo people and other peoples, nations, and groups? How do epistemic injustices harm Oromo cultural practices, beliefs, and epistemologies?
Specific topics may include:
➢ The role of epistemic injustice in governance or education systems
➢ The tensions between colonial and Indigenous epistemologies
➢ The connections between racism and colonialism in Ethiopian state epistemologies
2. DECOLONIAL HISTORIES AND KNOWLEDGE
Colonialism and racism use practices of erasure to maintain their legitimacy and deny Indigenous cultural and spatial validity. Decolonial historical practices address these erasures and demonstrate the historical roots of the Oromo people in the Horn, and their long relationships with other peoples. How have colonial narratives impacted the governance and knowledge systems in the Horn of Africa? What role does racism play? Specific topics may include:
➢ Articles demonstrating the indigeneity and place of Oromo in the Northeast (Horn) of Africa ➢ Works about linguistic relationships between the Cushitic, Oromos, and Semitic nations and nationalities in the Horn of Africa.
➢ Empirical evidence of the physical and natural habitat of Oromos and other Indigenous groups in the western, Northwest, and Northern parts of today’s Ethiopia, the Horn & Northeast Africa.
➢ Any traces of Anthropological, Sociological, and Archeological evidence of Oromo Indigeneity in the Horn & Northeast Africa.
➢ Population Structure Analysis.
➢ To refute the adversaries’ false narration, use GPS-mapped Oromo names demonstrating
Northeast Africa (Today’s Abyssinia) and Ethiopia as an evidence of ancient Oromo Homeland (For a reference, this can be requested from the OSA president).
3. ORGANIZATIONS, STRUCTURES&CAPACITIES
Committing to long-term changes requires building the capacity to understand emerging opportunities, challenges, and risks. This capacity building should be grounded at the community and institutional levels. To study further how racism and colonialism have impacted capacity building, as well as the role of capacity building as a counter to racist and colonial legacies, we consider questions such as: What is required to build people’s social, economic, political, cultural, and ecological capacities in the Horn of Africa? What does it require the people in the Horn of Africa to empower themselves, develop a deep understanding of their challenges, identify workable solutions, heal from past wounds, and broaden their perspectives to thrive?
Specific contributions under this theme may include:
➢ The use of the UN Charter for Self-Determination
➢ Understanding colonial forms of governance
➢ Citizen diplomacy at the grassroots level
➢ Ways of advocating for policy change
4. DECOLONIAL FUTURITIES
By fully understanding the complex challenges of racism and colonialism, we can pave the way for social and ecological harmony for the peoples of the Horn of Africa. Good scholarship can play a role in breaking free from the grip of colonial models centered on profit and control to envision a fair and just future for all. Specific contributions under this theme may include:
➢ Confronting climate change
➢ Dismantling settler colonialism
➢ Empowering Indigenous practices and systems (Gada/Waqeefanna/Siiqqee)
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Deadlines for Submission and Notification:
- Abstracts and Panel or Roundtable Proposals due by June 8, 2025
- Acceptance and notifications will be made on a rolling basis, with final notices made by June 15, 2025.
Presenters requiring a visa to Canada, please submit early to allow time for processing.
- Final amendments paper/panel details due June 25, 2025
- Final presentation recordings due by July 05, 2025.
Contact:
For submissions or questions, contact the Conference Coordinating Committee at: